Carol Coletta

Leading Urban Thinker, Community Builder and President of ArtPlace

Carol’s the quintessential “city gal” – she’s smart, stylish, sophisticated, and most of all fearless. You get all of that from her walking into the room. Talk to Carol and the term “city gal” takes on a whole new meaning.Carol’s made it her life’s work to develop our cities, tackling the toughest issues facing urban communities through creativity and innovation. When you think about the fact that two percent of the landmass of the United States produces 50 percent of its GDP, you get a sense of the enormous opportunity and importance of her work.

Named one of the top 50 urban thinkers of all time, Carol is currently leading the start-up ArtPlace, a new initiative to spark a creative place-making movement across America. Her career has allowed her to explore different fields and bring together national and international public policy experts, elected officials, economists, business leaders, artists, developers, planners, and architects. Be it her work with Smart City Radio or with CEOs for Cities (the organization she led at the time of our Let Go & Lead conversation), Carol’s the living embodiment of Margaret Mead’s words: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

On Leadership

Leadership is happening outside of the traditional hierarchical structure. Leaders must learn to function in a network and work along a diffuse path.

On Community

To build a community, you need a strong sense of shared purpose. And that must be expressed in terms relevant to the people you want to engage.

On Chaotic Alignment

As traditional boundaries among stakeholders disappear, a new, networked model of authority has emerged. Influence is the new currency.

On Engaging the Younger Generations

The younger generations have grown up in a digitally connected community—which has shaped their value systems. They expect collaboration. They expect you to share.

On Talent Management

“We define opportunity as a city that develops all of its talent, and puts all of its talent to work.”